Anger at flat for violent prisoner

A violent criminal was placed in a minimum security unit because he could possibly be paroled within a year, the Corrections Department says.

News yesterday that Warren Te Hei - serving time for attempted murder and aggravated robbery - was in a minimum security unit at Hawkes Bay Prison sparked outrage, with Opposition politicians questioning why a man with such serious convictions was being kept in "comfortable, motel-like accommodation".

Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said it was mad that Te Hei could be considered for parole and hoped the Corrections Department would apply to keep him behind bars.

It was reported yesterday that Corrections had obtained a Section 107 order which prevented Te Hei being released from jail early, meaning he could stay imprisoned until his scheduled release date of 2012.

Section 107 orders are reviewed every six months by the Parole Board.

The department would not comment on whether it had obtained a Section 107 order, and told The Herald it could not comment on individual cases.

Decisions on whether it was appropriate to apply to keep a prisoner such as Te Hei in jail beyond their parole date were made closer to that time, Tony Howe, Corrections acting assistant general manager operations, said.

Units such as the chalet in which Te Hei is being kept are a flat-type situation with three other inmates.

They were designed to provide an intermediate step between prison and living in the community, the department said.

"Prisoners are not placed in self-care units unless there is some expectation that they will be released in the coming year," Mr Howe said.

Mr McVicar said the Te Hei case showed the Parole Act needed to be changed.

National law and order spokesman Simon Power said it was horrifying that Te Hei - who was once held in the maximum-security wing in Auckland Prison at Paremoremo - was now living outside the main perimeter fence at Hawkes Bay Prison with only a 1. 8-metre fence stopping him wandering off into the community.

"Victims will be horrified to learn that he was one of four who were paid a total of $325,000 compensation in 2000 for alleged torture, and who is seeking further compensation for allegedly being kept in solitary confinement after stabbing a fellow inmate in 1997," Mr Power said. He got a further 10 years for that and is put in something approaching a motel in the Hawkes Bay countryside, and could have a nice little nest egg when he gets out.

"What concerns me is that Corrections seem content with his treatment or perhaps they are afraid of offending him again in case he seeks more compo. If this is an example of how tough this Labour Government is on crime then we have a very big problem."